The Kankers
by HeartJacker13
Summary: "Edd, let me show you something," Marie said as she stood up and started taking off her shirt. Edd's face instantly went red. "Wait, Marie, maybe we should work up for this kind of stuff! I don't think I'm ready for-" Edd stopped talking immediately. It wasn't that a half naked chick was in front of him that made his jaw drop in shock. "Wh-what happened to you?"
1. Chapter 1 - First Offer

**I'll just go ahead and start this out by saying that I promise to actually finish this story! After this one, I was thinking about rewriting "Dance With A Dragon", because I got stuck. DX I know where I want it to go, but I think rewriting it to put hints in it for future situations would help me out.**

 **Also, I don't actually know how old these people are. XD I just kind of guessed. I'm sorry if I ruin your childhood. (Not actually sorry!)**

 **Rated M for drug use, rape, language, and mild sexual situations. You have been warned.**

...

Ah, the first day back from summer break! Lots of kids say they hate going back to school, but many are excited to see friends again that they weren't able to visit during the break. Edd was specifically excited because this was his senior year! He was pretty sure which college he was going to. Nothing too fancy, much to his parents disappointment. He figured a simple state university was a completely okay choice. Edd wanted to go to the university that most of his friends were going to. (Of course, Ed had a harder time with his scholarships, but he decided he could pay off school expenses with loans.)

The bell rang. Everyone shot up and rushed to the door, despite the teacher's calls to slow down and listen to more rules that they go through every school year. As Edd walked into his first period class, he noticed that the seats were already taken except one in the back. He sighed, as he naturally liked sitting in the front. Not wanting to look awkward, he continued on and sat at the last available desk. Marie Kanker happened to be sitting on his right side, making Edd nervous a little. Not because all of those years of the Kanker sisters picking on the Eds, but because once he became aware of the opposite sex, Marie had been in his mind for a while. He never spoke of this to anyone, however.

Marie had her signature pixie cut with her hair dyed a nice shade of blue. She started wearing make up more, but it didn't look bad. She was a bit on the Gothic side, so her eyelids were a dark gray, and on some days, straight up black. Marie had a very casual style to her dress code. Today she wore long sleeves and pants with many pockets along the legs that looked too big for her. She was currently playing with a pencil between her nose and upper lip. She noticed Edd coming, but made no other facial expression except for the puckering of her lips to balance her pencil. Marie raised an eyebrow when Edd hesitated to sit. For some reason, Edd felt like she was looking right through him. Not in a bad way, but he felt exposed under her gaze. She watched him as he sat down, but continued to play with her silly pencil.

The teacher eventually started talking about the subject, and Edd found it hard to concentrate. He would glance occasionally at Marie, but she seemed to not notice. She was still playing with her pencil, but now she was leaning back in her chair, far enough for the back to touch the wall.

Edd cleared his throat slightly. "So, you're bored already? It's our first day," he whispered to her. His heart pounded; he hadn't talked to her in a while, so he was slightly nervous.

Marie dropped her pencil and slowly turned her head toward him. She smiled slowly and said, "Nah. I just feel awesome." She gave him a toothy grin, an expression that looked foreign on her face.

"Marie, are you okay?" Edd asked. She was acting quite strange. Marie typically had very apathetic answers to things, and rarely smiled as big as she was right now. Perhaps she was starting to notice him...?

Her answer was another goofy grin, and she started to stretch her arms, groaning in a not so quiet manner. "Yup. I feel great. Couldn't be better!"

Edd chuckled slightly. "Well, whatever you're taking, I'd like some!" he joked.

The girl came out of her stretched and leaned close, almost too close for Edd's personal space bubble. She whispered very quietly: "Want some?"

His eyes widened more than humanly possible. "Marie!? Are you serious? I was joking!" he quietly scolded her.

"Edd, come on! You should be bad with me," she whispered, playfully pouting.

He looked around slightly. Other students were talking quietly. He turned back to meet Marie's gaze. Edd felt like her eyes pierced his soul, almost like they were calling out for help...

Before he could figure out what it was, Marie snapped him out of it. "It really isn't that bad. It's just pot. And we didn't actually have to do it here, you know, if you want to smoke..." she trailed off and looked away from him. She picked up her pencil and started to play with it again.

Edd shrugged. "I've only tried it a couple of times. Mostly with Ed and Eddy. We would talk about all the crazy situations we got in as kids."

Marie giggled. "Sometimes me and May would do that. Lee wasn't really into weed much." She sighed. "I miss Lee."

"What happened?" Edd asked, confused.

"Oh yeah, you guys wouldn't know. She moved out. She graduated last year, and decided to bail. May and I are planning on moving in with her once we're out of school," Marie explained.

He tilted his head. "Really? Wouldn't you guys want to get away from each other? Not that you guys aren't close or anything," he suggested.

Marie looked at the ceiling, her expression went blank. "I guess... Well, we kind of figured some things out. I kind of don't want to talk about it."

Edd frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you..."

"Oh no, it's not like that," Marie said, looking at Edd again. "It's just kind of a long story. And I don't want to talk about it at school."

Edd was somewhat aware of the Kanker sisters' home situation. They're all half-sisters with different fathers. Maybe one came back and threw things out of place? He wasn't sure, but he had a feeling in his gut that something wasn't right at home for them.

The bell rang for the end of first period. Edd gathered his things into a neat stack and started off in the direction of his second period class. He paused at the doorway and glanced back at Marie, who was slowly gathering her things like she had all the time in the world. She looked up to meet his gaze, and Edd sheepishly looked away. Marie gathered her things a little more quickly and caught up to Edd. Once out of the classroom, Edd heard his name being called.

"Double D! Do we have the next class together?" Eddy asked, approaching them quickly.

Edd pulled out his schedule and compared it with Eddy's as they walked down the hall. "Yup! Looks like it!"

"Fuck yes!" Eddy said, louder than Edd thought he should have. He looked around nervously for any teachers that may have overheard them.

"Hey, Marie," Edd called out and turned around. Marie wasn't behind him anymore.

"What's up, man? You trying to talk to Marie?" Eddy asked, nudging his shoulder and winking.

Not too far away, Edd heard the distinct sound of books falling on the floor. The crowd broke slightly, and Edd saw Marie had dropped her books and was trying to pick them up.

"Beat it, trailer trash," someone had said to her while kicking one of her books.

"Hold on, Eddy," Edd said quickly, and rushed over to help. Picking up the book that had been kicked, he met up with Marie. She looked up at him with her signature blank expression.

"Sorry," she mumbled and grabbed her book from him. Marie pushed passed both Edd and Eddy, and made her way down the hall.

Edd got an idea. He started walking down the hall again with Eddy, and he pulled out a piece of paper and dug out a pen from his pocket.

"So, Double D, Ed and I were thinking we could play some games tomorrow night. Ya know, order some pizza. Maybe we could start planning a 'Last Year of School' food fight or something," Eddy suggested.

Edd shook his head. "You are rushing into things, Eddy. It's only the first day," he countered. He started writing a short note.

Eddy threw an arm around his friend. He wasn't as short as he used to be, though he's still the shortest in their group. "Come on! If we plan it now, it'll be fool proof!" He looked at what Edd was writing. "Ooh, are you writing Marie a love letter?"

"No," he said quickly, blushing a bit. He finished his note, and started to fold it to the best of his ability in a small rectangle, and tried looking for Marie.

Luckily, there weren't many people with blue hair in their school. He rushed up to her and quickly placed it on her stack of books and continued with his pace forward, Eddy steadily behind him.

"Think she'll do it?" Eddy asked.

Edd glanced behind him to see Marie fully unfold his note. She smiled, then fold it back up to put it in her pocket. "Yeah, I think she will," Edd answered back. He couldn't help but smile, too.


	2. Chapter 2 - Stoner Love

**This chapter has been slightly edited. I changed a couple of sentences. If you've read this before, I changed the part where Marie said she played an instrument, and instead it says that she looked up breathing exercises online. Carry on!**

The final bell rang, and Marie shot up from her chair. She had already gathered her books into a manageable stack, most of them in her locker. Her high had gone away after lunch, so she was feeling somewhat sleepy. Smiling from the note she was given earlier, she pulled it out of her pocket to read it again.

"Wanna hang out after school? I'll smoke with you. :)" it had said. Marie rushed through the crowd of people and headed for the parking lot. May had come into view once she arrived.

"Marie, can I borrow one of your work shirts tonight? I forgot to throw mine in the wash," she asked.

"Yeah, that's fine," she answered, looking around for a certain black beanie that a certain someone. Eventually, she saw Edd saying good-bye to his "Ed" friends. He jogged lightly over to the sisters.

May giggled. "Hi, Edd!" she called out, which earned her a slight elbow jab to the side from her older sister.

"I hope you don't mind riding with all three of us?" Marie asked him.

Edd shook his head. "Is Lee coming here?"

"Yeah, it's her car," Marie answered.

The trio walked towards the entrance of the school to find Lee smoking a cigarette in front of a really beat up red car with paint coming off of it. "Hiya, Edd!" she called out, and winked.

"Knock it off, Lee," Marie growled.

"I'm just teasin'," she said, holding her hands up defensively. She climbed in the driver's seat while May sat in the passenger's seat. Edd and Marie climbed into the back seats, putting their books in between them.

As they took off, Lee and May had a small conversation. Marie looked at Edd. "So what made you want to smoke with me? Is Double D's good streak gone for good?" she said, smiling slyly.

"Now, just because I've done it a couple of times before doesn't mean I have to be a delinquent," Edd countered.

Marie shrugged. "I just wanted to see what school would be like while I was high. I probably won't do it again, since now they'll be paying attention to us. First day is get away day," she explained.

Edd blushed a little and looked away. "I dunno, I kind of wanted to hang out with you. We haven't seen each other in a while," he mumbled.

"Hey, Marie, when do you work next?" Lee called out.

"Tomorrow," Marie answered. "I offered to close."

"When do you get off tomorrow?" Lee asked, turning to May.

"Eight. I can ask to help close, too, but Tony probably won't let me," she answered.

"Nah, I don't think he will. Just ask if you can hang out until I can get you," Lee suggested.

May sighed. "I guess I'll have to remember to bring my charger."

"When did you two start working?" Edd asked Marie.

She shrugged again. "Beginning of summer break. We work at the In and Out store a few blocks from my neighborhood."

"You guys don't want May walking home at night?" he asked.

Marie looked away from him. "Yeah."

Once they arrived at the Kanker's house, Lee stayed in the car while everyone else left. Marie lead Edd to her room. "Don't get into trouble, you two!" May called out before leaving the house with her uniform in her shoulder bag.

Edd looked at Marie with shocked eyes. "Wait, are we alone!? Where's your mother?"

"I dunno, probably out drinking," she answered.

Edd flinched slightly. "I, um... that was a joke, right?"

"Sure, whatever. Come on, I want to show you my bong," Marie said, grabbing Edd's hand. He blushed pretty badly. She led him to her room and shut the door. She kind of liked that Edd was a "good kid". Getting him in situations that would make him stutter or blush made her smile a little on the inside. She got on the floor and started reaching under her bed. "Now, my set up is pretty righteous. May and I saved up forever for this beauty." She pulled out a two foot water bong that was black around the base and green where the mouth piece was. The bowl to the lamp had spider legs on the side with a black widow marking on the underside.

Edd whistled. "That's pretty impressive. You have the lung power for all that?"

"Yeah, it took a little bit to get used to. My first bong was tiny. It's kind of adorable compared to Filistata," May explained.

"And you named it," Edd said. "Of course you did."

"Whatever, man. I love this thing. It's worthy of a name," she said rolling her eyes playfully. "Now, wanna get ripped? I'll light it for ya."

Edd stared at the giant bong. "Okay, is it too late to say that I've only had joints?"

Marie giggled a little. "Do you know how to work these?"

"Well, I've seen Eddy do it, so I have a general idea," he answered.

"Okay, well, when I light it, you'll start sucking in air. If you think you have inhaled enough, just tap on the neck of it and I'll pull the bowl out. You can try to suck up all the smoke, but don't over do it. It'll make you cough a lot."

"Got it," Edd said. He mentally prepared himself. He put his mouth on the mouth piece and Marie lit up the weed. He sucked a good bit and tapped the neck once he was ready. He inhaled all the smoke and tried to hold it in, but it was too much and he coughed out all the smoke.

Marie started patting his back. "First bong hit is the hardest,"

"No kidding," Edd managed to say. He finally got a hold of his coughing and tried to breathe normally. It came back to him after a few shallow breaths.

"You wanna light mine?" Marie asked, smiling slightly. Edd nodded, and Marie handed him the lighter. He repeated the process for her, but she sucked in more than he did. She tapped on the neck and Edd pulled the bowl out. She managed to inhale all of the smoke and hold it in for a good ten seconds.

"Good lord," Edd said.

Marie smiled and nodded in approval, blowing out all of her smoke slowly. "Breathing exercises help."

"You mean for band practice? Do you play an instrument?" Edd asked curiously.

She shrugged. "Nah. I looked online and a lot of people that do play instruments said that it helps. I'm only good at listening to music, not playing it." They ripped from the bong once more each before Marie felt her head swimming. Edd was probably twice as high since they were his first bong rips. She put her bong away and looked at him, smiling. "Told you."

Edd nodded very slowly. "Is this how you felt this morning?"

"Yes, sir! This is good shit," she explained. "Come, we can hang out on my bed."

His heart thumped hard against his chest. "Wa-wait, are you serious?" Edd asked nervously.

Marie giggled. "Relax. We don't have to do anything. I thought we could just lay down and chill. Talk about stuff, ya know?" She shuffled towards her bed and plopped down onto it and closed her eyes. Edd slowly followed and lay on the opposite side of it. He watched the ceiling in a strange comfort. He felt his face was a little tingly and that his eyes didn't want to move much.

"I could get used to this," Edd said softly.

Marie shifted onto her side and propped her head up on her hand. "Yeah, I wish I could do this all the time. I try not to do it too often. I can't really smoke every day. It makes it harder to get this high without using more weed."

Edd sighed softly. "Makes sense." He stared off and thought about things for a couple of minutes. "Hey Marie, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Sure, I guess."

He turned his head toward her so he could see her. "Is your home life... okay?"

Marie sighed. She lay back down on her back again, avoiding his gaze. "Honestly, no. It's not."

"What's wrong? Would it help to talk about it?" he asked. "I won't tell anyone, not even the Eds."

Rolling over so that her back faced her, she contemplated on whether or not she should enlighten him. "I don't really want to talk about it. It's nothing against you. It's just... kind of hard to explain it. But I'm pretty sure we've got it handled. Once May and I are out of here, everything will be fine. I promise." Marie explained. She turned to face him once more. "So don't worry about me."

Edd looked into her eyes, and immediately he could tell that she didn't believe what she had said. He wanted so badly to stroke her cheek, knowing in this state how soft she would be. But instead, he just stared back into her eyes, and simply said, "Okay."


	3. Chapter 3 - Sister Talk

The next day was especially boring for Marie. She only did school work if it was absolutely necessary, but other than that, she refused to take any notes or make an effort otherwise. Sure, she cared a little about her grades, but Marie felt like she didn't actually need to take notes this year. She made a personal vow to get through the school year and prepare for the next step in her life. Marie wasn't an idiot; she was actually quite smart. She got better grades than her sisters did, and she also didn't try as hard as they did. Marie even helped Lee out with her homework, despite the fact that Lee was a grade above her. May was good when it came to writing and grammar, subjects that Marie hated, but she always needed an extra boost in mathematics. She would get it eventually, it just wouldn't click right away.

"Being the middle child sucks," she said out loud to nobody in particular. Marie continued to doodle on her notepad until the final bell rang. It wasn't anything fancy, just a couple of patterns here and there. She looked up and saw May already outside the doorway of her classroom. Marie asked to be excused, then went out to talk to her sister.

"Did you want to go ahead and get ready? I brought my uniform and everything," May asked.

"Yeah, sure. I guess it wouldn't hurt," Marie decided, and started down the hall.

"So, Marie," May said smiling, pushing a long lock of blond hair behind her ear, "what did you and Double D do yesterday?"

Embarrassed, Marie shoved her hands in her pockets. "Nothing, geez. We just smoked." She could feel her face getting hot. "We just talked, nothing new."

May looped her arm around one of Marie's. "Nothing new, except you had the house to yourselves."

"Knock it off, May. Nothing happened..."

"I bet Double D likes it when you blush like that," May accused, talking louder than Marie would have liked.

"Shut up! His homeroom is over there!" Marie growled.

Unfortunately for Marie, May knew exactly where Edd's homeroom was. She ran to the doorway, and Marie froze. "Hey, Double D!" She called out. From within the classroom, Edd looked up from his homework that he was nearly finished with. May giggled as Marie tried to pull her away. "Marie says hi!"

"Ugh, you jerk!" Marie yelled as May took off towards the women's restrooms. Marie ran after her, May giggling the whole way down.

As they entered, May locked herself in her stall, laughing.

"That's it, I'm going to kill you!" Marie yelled, her face red with embarrassment. She went inside her own stall and started to change clothes.

"Hey Marie? Remember when Lee used to play with us? She would embarrass us like that all the time when we all were finally in high school," May said sadly.

"Yeah, I remember you almost cried one time," Marie answered back.

May was quiet for a minute. "You're starting to frown a lot like her now," she spoke finally. "I just wish you two would laugh more."

Marie sighed. "I know. It's just tough right now. We're trying to keep you safe while trying to grow up ourselves. It's not an easy task, you know."

"I know that," May said, sighing. "I just miss when we could goof off and not have to worry about mom."

"Or her stupid fucking boyfriend," Marie growled. She heard May's stall door unlock. She finished up putting on her uniform, then came out, too. Marie checked the mirror to make sure her smokey gray eye make up wasn't messy. She traced her finger along the eye shadow, wincing a bit. Marie looked out of the corner of her eye to see if May had caught that, which she did.

"Still there, huh?"

Marie started to leave the restroom. "It's almost gone, don't worry."

"I also can't wait for you to stop wearing that make up, Skull Kid," May said, grinning.

Marie looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You do realize that nick name doesn't bother me one bit? Do you even know what a Skull Kid is?"

May shrugged and followed her sister out.

. . .

"Hey, Double D!" May yelled. Edd looked up from his homework that he was nearly finished with. May giggled uncontrollably. "Marie says hi!" she yelled, then turn to ran, having a very embarrassed Marie follow close behind her.

"Ugh, you jerk!" was heard down the hall. Edd's face was pretty red, since now the whole class was looking directly at him. He ignored them to the best of his abilities and continued his homework.

Ed started laughing. "Little sisters are so cute!" he said.

"Yeah, I bet you do think May is cute, Ed!" Eddy called out.

"No, I didn't say that!" Ed said, shoving Eddy. Edd merely shook his head.


	4. Chapter 4 - Nazz Finds Out

**This chapter kind of takes place a couple of weeks after school started back again. I wasn't sure how to put that into the chapter, so I wanted to mention it here to avoid confusion. :)**

Edd's stomach growled. He was in line to purchase his school lunch; his food in one hand while carrying a note book in the other. He could hear Ed and Eddy in the distance, so he glanced back to see how far down the line they were.

Once Edd had paid for his food, he picked a nice table by the windows, not wanting to sit outside since it was still hot. He opened his notepad and started jotting down notes on random subjects, all while occasionally taking a bite to eat. Eventually, Ed and Eddy came by to sit on either side of him.

"Double D, here's the new page!" Ed exclaimed, pulling out a folded piece of paper. Edd put his pencil down and unfolded the paper, revealing comic book drawings.

Edd scanned the drawings. "Your grammar is getting a lot better, Ed. I don't have to edit it this time," he complimented. "And I've got to say, once you finish the first edition, you should put yourself out there."

"Yeah, and once it gets big, we can try to get a movie out of it!" Eddy said proudly. "We could start a legit business out if it!"

"Still trying to make money, Eddy?" said a feminine voice. All three of the boys looked up to find a certain blue pixie cut.

"Still creeping up on people?" Eddy replied, annoyed. "What do you want, Marie?"

Marie smiled and squeezed herself between Edd and Eddy, receiving a very annoyed grunt from Eddy. "Oh nothing, just want to hang out. Are girls still not allowed?" she countered.

"Did you eat already?" asked Ed.

"Nah, I wasn't hungry," answered Marie. "So, Edd. Do you want to hang out again? I don't work today."

Edd blushed and fidgeted with his pencil. "I-I would like that, yes. Maybe we could... go out to eat?"

Marie looked off to the side. "I don't get paid until tomorrow..."

Edd shook his head. "I can pay."

"No, you don't have to. It's fine, we could just watch a movie at my place," Marie countered. When the silence wasn't filled, she quickly added, "Or your place? It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure? I really don't mind," Edd said nervously.

Eddy sighed loudly. "Can you two be more awkward?"

Edd reached out to touch Marie's shoulder, making her flinch. He pulled back his hand quickly, looking at her quizzically. Marie shifted under his gaze. "I can pay, really."

Marie bit her lip and looked down at the table. "Okay," she mumbled.

"Hey Marie, does May work tonight?" Ed asked, slightly nervous.

"Yeah, she and Lee do. I think May closes though. At midnight," Marie answered. She turned to Edd and grabbed his notebook and pencil. She wrote down her number and asked, "Text me your number?"

"Uh, sure," Edd said. Marie got up and left the table.

Once out of earshot, Eddy said, "Why is she acting so weird?"

Edd thought for a moment, but shook his head. "Something isn't right."

"Uh, yeah. The chick is weird. Why is she wearing all that make up? It's like she wants her whole face to be hidden from the sun or something," Eddy said.

"It's weird that she's wearing long sleeved shirts in the summer," Ed said, hoping for the others to agree.

Edd looked at Ed, and something clicked. "I think she's hiding something," Edd deducted. "Ed, does May also wear long sleeves?"

"What? Why would I know that?" Ed asked defensively.

"We all know, Ed. We don't care," Eddy told him.

. . .

Marie went to the restroom after speaking to Edd. She had felt her phone buzz while she was talking to him, and she wanted to make sure it wasn't important.

Lee: May tells me you aren't eating today.

Marie sighed impatiently. She texted back a reply.

Me: I didn't have money and I don't want to bother you guys. I'm fine.

Lee: Come on, Marie. You have to keep your strength up.

Me: I'm hanging out with Edd after school. I won't be alone. I told you, I'm fine.

Lee: Just be careful.

Marie rolled her eyes and put her phone back up. She walked up to the mirror and checked her make up. She touched around her eyes and felt no pain. Sighing with relief, looked around to make sure nobody was in the restroom. Once it was clear, she carefully rolled up her sleeves and checked out a bruise on her arm. It was a disgusting mixture of purple in the middle and light green around the edges.

"Marie!?" she heard someone gasp, and Marie snapped her head towards the person speaking her name.

"Nazz, shut up!" Marie said frantically, pulling Nazz into the bathroom.

"What happened to your arm!?" she asked, looking horrified.

"Nothing! You can't tell anyone!" Marie growled.

"Nothing? That looks like a hand print, Marie!" Nazz said, tears in her eyes. "Who did this?"

"Fuck!" Marie yelled, making Nazz jump. "Look, just don't tell anyone, okay?"

Nazz shook her head. "Marie, you can't-"

Marie put her hands on Nazz's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "You may think you're helping if you tell someone, but you won't. You'll only make it worse. Someone will come to my house, and it will get a lot worse," Marie pleaded. "A lot worse." Marie let go of her and rolled down her sleeves. "And don't confront May. She might cry," she called out behind her, leaving Nazz in the bathroom.

Nazz caught up with Marie and carefully tugged her arm. "People die in this situation, Marie! You can't let this keep happening."

Marie looked at Nazz and smiled. "They can't kill me that easily."

"That's not funny," the blond countered. She bit her lip. "Who else knows?"

"Outside me and my sisters? Just you," she answered.

"Edd doesn't know?"

Marie looked away. "I may tell him. I'm... just not ready to." She looked back at Nazz. "Just promise me, okay? My sisters and I have a system going, and it's working. We'll get out of there, we just have to finish school."

Nazz sighed heavily. "Fine. Just... be careful?"

Marie rolled her eyes. "I wish people would stop telling me that."


	5. Chapter 5 - Double D's Set Up

"Are you okay with this?" Marie asked Edd. They had just gotten dropped off by Eddy and were previously at a new fast food restaurant. "I mean, I know you mind your parents well."

"It'll be fine if we don't do anything bad," Edd countered. Besides, we're just going in my house to get drinks and we can head to the shed. It's not that terrible," he explained.

"Right, because your parents don't know I turned you into a bong user," Marie said, elbowing Edd slightly.

"Just don't say that too loud," he whispered, looking around. He took his keys out of his pockets and unlocked his front door. A small rush of cool air hit them, making Marie shiver slightly. She followed him inside and he led her to the kitchen. Edd opened the refrigerator and pulled out two cans of sodas. He took a mental note on Marie's expression on seeing a fridge full of food, and it saddened him a bit. He never thought of himself as privileged until he started hanging out with Marie more. It seemed to him that the Kanker sisters do without a lot of things. Handing her a soda, he led her to the back door and to the shed. Once inside, there were three mushroom chairs and a light bulb with a chain attached to the socket. Edd yanked the chain to turn on the light, and closed the door. Marie had already sat down and waited for him.

"So, lets see it," she said happily. Edd put down his soda and found a small hiding spot for his bong and pulled it out.

"It's not as big as yours, but it works the same," he explained. "After using yours, I used my allowance to buy one."

"Good choice. Bongs are the best," Marie said. Edd sat down in the chair beside her and took out a lighter. He handed it and the bong to her, offering her the first hit. She gladly accepted and took a long drag out of it. She held in her smoke for a few moments before handing off the bong and lighter to Edd.

Once they were nice and ripped, they sat in silence, listening to the noises outside of the shed. The sun was setting, so many insects were singing their songs to each other.

"Marie, why did you flinch earlier today?" Edd asked, making Marie jump in surprise.

"Edd, please don't. Not now," she complained.

"You didn't eat earlier today, either," he accused.

"I said I wasn't hungry..."

"And both you and May wear long sleeved shirts. You're hiding bruises, aren't you?"

"Edd, stop it!" Marie yelled, standing up. "I don't want to think about that stuff, okay? I just wanted to hang out with you and... just not have to deal with anything," she said weakly. She looked at his shocked expression, and sighed. She sat down. "Just... don't think about it."

They were quiet for a while. Edd tried to gather his thoughts. "I just want to help you," he said.

Marie looked at him. "You want to help? Then just be there for me. You don't have to fix anything or figure out stuff. Just... be there."

Edd watched her expression. Her eyes were silently pleading out to him, wanting him to save her. "I'll be there." His heart pounded as he thought of what he wanted to do next. He grabbed Marie's hand and lightly tugged her closer to him. Marie raised an eyebrow, but complied. She got up, waiting on what to do next. He tugged her closer again. Marie put on a sly smile, and tried to the best of her ability to sit in the same chair Edd was sitting in. She sat across his lap, so that while they were sitting, they were in a bridal style position. Edd hesitated.

"Don't puss out on me now," Marie mocked. She leaned in and sealed the deal with her lips on his. He, of course, was frozen in nervous terror, but got over it quickly when Marie didn't back down. She moaned into his mouth as he tried to dart his tongue into hers. She pulled away. "Adventurous, are we?" she smirked. Edd just laughed nervously. "Do you want to stop?" she asked, afraid it may be too much at one time.

"N-no," was his answer. Marie adjusted herself so that she was straddling him in the chair. She kissed him again, but like she said, Edd was getting adventurous. He wrapped his arms around her waste and moved down towards her neck. She moaned aloud, craning her neck so he could have more access. His hands roamed her back and his fingertips snaked up her shirt. She yelped slightly, not expecting his fingers to be that cold. Edd moved down to her collarbone and started to push her shirt up.

Marie shot up and grabbed her shirt and pushed it back down. "Maybe we should stop," she said quickly, her face red with embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Edd said quickly, panic in his voice.

Marie relaxed a bit in the chair. She laid her head on his shoulder. "No, it's okay. I don't think it's time yet," she explained.

"Yet!?" Edd yelped.

She looked at him. "Do you not want to?"

He looked off to the side, feeling his face burn up. "It's not that. I just... haven't thought about that kind of stuff..."

Marie smirked. "Your fingers were thinking it." She couldn't believe how red his face got after that.


	6. Chapter 6 - Bruising

He could not focus for the life of him. It was first period, and Edd was sitting beside Marie, like usual. And like usual, she was leaning back in her chair, balancing her pencil between her nose and lip again. But unlike usual, he kept thinking of her on top of him yesterday, kissing him...

He shook his head. No matter how many times he did that, the thought would never leave. All last night while he was trying to go to sleep, his thoughts were plagued of that moment. It didn't happen very long, but it made quite an impression on him. Edd had never kissed anyone before, and it was definitely the first time a girl sat on his lap and kissed him. He had to fight all night with his raging boner, and eventually had to take care of it. Much to Edd's misfortune, he still had to fight his boners, because now he was thinking of Marie and if she was having such thoughts. He thought of her, not being able to sleep, and having to take care of herself as well...

Edd was also unsure if hot boxing had anything to do with their moods. He was afraid to ask her if she would do it sober. Not that he didn't mind if the drugs helped them get physical, he just wanted clarification on if they're going to be doing anything like this sober. Edd leaned back in his chair and sighed slightly. He let his arms dangle to the sides, and leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He just couldn't concentrate!

Edd's eyes snapped open when he felt something warm touch his hand. He looked down to see Marie sitting normally for once, and wrapping her fingers around his last two digits. He smiled and gripped her own hand. This gave him a little bit more confidence of his stand point on the relationship.

Marie smiled, and wrote something on a piece of paper. She passed it over to his desk.

Marie: Are you okay? Your hands are sweaty.

Edd read the note and sighed. He contemplated telling her to see what her reaction would be.

Edd: I apologize if this may sound cliché, but you plague my thoughts.

Marie: I didn't do anything special.

Edd: Excuse me for having such a reaction to my first make out session.

Marie: It was my first one too, but you don't see me popping boners. :P

Edd's face instantly light up as red as it could go. He looked at Marie with a face that made her laugh a little too loudly. Edd pinched the bridge of his nose, then responded to her note.'

Edd: Is it too noticeable?

Marie: Only if I'm not looking at your crotch. Seriously, how big is that thing?

Edd balled up the note, earning another chuckle from Marie. She enjoyed making Edd embarrassed, especially when it comes to physical contact. Wanting some pay back, he slid his cold, icy fingers slightly under her shirt so he could touch her belly. Marie jumped away from him, making some of the students stare at her, and even earning a look from the teacher.

"Jerk," she mumbled. Once the class was more settled and paying attention to something else, Marie scooted a little closer to Edd and slid a hand under his table. She grabbed Edd's erection gently, making Edd jump in the same hysterical way. He grabbed her forearm.

Marie hissed very lowly and immediately let go of his dick. Edd noticed right away the tears that threatened to escape Marie's eyes. His heart thumped roughly against his chest. Marie looked at him with pleading eyes as he tried to roll up Marie's sleeve. Unable to fight him anymore, she let him look at her arm. Once the bruise was exposed, she didn't dare look at his expression. She got up and quickly excused herself to run to the bathroom.

Nazz, from the front of the room, looked back to see the horrified look on Edd's face.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Attack

_Flashback to the beginning of summer break..._

"So how does it feel, Lee? You get to leave!" May exclaimed from the back seat of the car. The Kanker sisters were on their way to look at apartments on the weekend. Lee was grateful she graduated, but she regrets not going apartment hunting sooner. She wanted to get out of the house so bad! Lee also regrets not being able to take her sisters with her, at least not yet. With Marie a year behind her, and May two years behind, it will take a while before they can fully get out into the world. To help with this, however, she lets her sisters drive her car every now and then, since they already have gotten their licenses.

"Oh, you girls remember this song?" Lee said happily, turning up the radio. Britney Spear's "Hit Me Baby One More Time" was playing, and May could hardly contain her excitement.

"Turn it up more!" she yelled.

"Come on, Marie, you know this song, too!" Lee said, elbowing the blue haired girl gently. Marie rolled her eyes, but eventually gave in.

As they drove down the road, the trio sang. "I must confess! That my loneliness! Is killing me now~! Don't you know I still believe! That you will be here! And give me a sign~! HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!" They pulled up to a stoplight, but did not relent.

"My loneliness, is killing me! (And I~!) I must confess, I still believe! (Still believe~!) When I'm not with you, I lose my mind! Give me a sign~!" As the last verse came up, a car drove up beside them. "Hit me baby one more time!" they all sang. Marie looked over to the other car, and her eyes widened with horror. All three Eds were looking at them, specifically Edd was looking at her. She sped off as the light turned green.

"Hey, what gives?" Lee demanded.

"Edd was in that car!" Marie answered, her face red with embarrassment.

"Just take it easy on the car, will ya?"

. . .

Lee had just dropped off Marie and May at the In and Out store. She unlocked the front door of the trailer and threw her keys on the coffee table. As she sat on the couch, a tall figure appeared in the room.

"What do you want?" she demanded, recognizing him as her mother's boyfriend.

"I need a ride to the liquor store," he demanded.

"Tch. Go ask someone else," Lee snorted. The man lunged at her, and she nearly escaped. She jumped off the couch, but he grabbed her leg and tripped her.

"I wasn't asking!" he shouted. Lee kicked him in the chest, and scrambled to get up. She grabbed her keys, but the man tripped her up again, and climbed on top of her. She punched him in the face a few times before she used her keys to scratch him. He yelled out, but pinned her arms down. She spat in his face.

"I'm not afraid of you," she growled at him.

The man laughs. "You don't have to be. I'm stronger than you!" He tried to bend down to kiss her forcefully, but she head butted him in the forehead. He released a strange growl and started to choke her. Lee tried as hard as she could to get his hands off of her neck, but she started to lose consciousness.

When she came to, Lee was still on the floor and the man had already taken her pants off. He rolled her over and tried to position himself at her nether entrance. She went to elbow him, but he was quicker. He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, making Lee yell out in pain. He put his weight on her arm to keep her from moving as he started to slam into her. Lee felt so humiliated and helpless that she stopped fighting. Tears came from her eyes, but she refused to sob. Once he finally finished, he released Lee's arm and got up from the floor, buckling his pants back up.

Lee didn't get up, but she turned and faced him with such primal rage built up inside her. She looked into his eyes with pure hatred, enough to make him look away. "Fine, don't be afraid of me. I don't care. I got what I wanted," he called out to her as he walked to the door.

. . .

Marie and May were talking by the grocery store front as the manager closed it up. The manager bid them a good night, then headed to his car. Shortly after he left, Lee showed up. Marie opened the passenger's door.

"Marie... can you drive tonight?" Lee asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Uh, yeah, sure," she said, confused. The two switched sides as May watched from the back seat. Marie started the car and exited the parking lot. A little ways down the road, Lee started sobbing. Marie was confused for a second, but gripped the steering wheel as hard as she could. "What did he do to you?" she growled. Lee didn't want to answer. They approached a stoplight, and Marie slammed her fists against the steering wheel. "That is fucking it! Nobody is going to that house alone anymore!"

"What's going on?" May asked with a shaky voice.

"I swear to god, I'll kill him," Marie vowed. "I'll fucking do it." May started crying in the back, and Marie herself was fighting tears.

Lee had composed herself a little better. "I'm going to keep finding a place. I'll live in here if I have to," she said.

. . .

The next day, Marie and May were in the living room, when the door was literally kicked open. The two girls jumped up and watched. Their mother's boyfriend came in and looked at the two, licking his lips. "I suppose your slut sister told you what's going to be happening from now on?" he said with a laugh.

Marie lunged at him, knocking him down. She sat on top of him and started punching him square in the face. He punched her back, knocking her off of him. He tried to get on top of her, but May came into the fight and tackled him. He shoved her into the wall. By this time, Marie was up again, blood coming out of her nose. He grabbed a handful of her hair and threw her against the wall, too. They took unrelenting turns in trying to fight him off. He quickly gave in and left the trailer.

"Geez, Marie, he really messed up your face," May said, grabbing some paper towels from the kitchen.

Marie wiped the blood off with her hand to the best of her ability. "What's the damage on you?"

After May handed her the paper towels, she poked various parts of her body that stung. The one that hurt the most was her left rib cage. She pressed on the spot, wincing at the pain, to make sure it wasn't broken in any places. "I think we might be okay," she said in an unsteady voice.

"I think we've entered a new hell," Marie stated.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Truth Comes Out

It was the weekend, and Marie stayed in her room. She was off on Saturdays, and she had wanted to hang out with Edd, but she was afraid she had mortified him to the point of no return. Marie decided to sleep in. May was at the house, so she felt it was safe to relax for once. It didn't last too long before her phone started buzzing. She looked at the screen and saw that it was Edd calling her. Marie sighed, and let it go to voice mail. A couple of minutes later, her phone buzzed again, but this time it was a text message. Groaning, she picked up her phone again.

Edd: Please pick up. I miss you. :(

Marie hesitated, but decided she should answer eventually.

Me: Don't you want someone who isn't all beat up all the time?

Edd: … I thought you wanted me to be there for you. I liked hanging out with you, and I would like to see you today.

Me: Do we have to talk about this if we see each other?

Edd: Not if you don't want to.

Marie got up and took a shower. She wasn't sure if she wanted to respond right away, and usually a shower helps her clear her thoughts. After she got dressed and brushed her teeth, she came back to her phone.

Me: Okay. You should come to my place, though. Filistata misses you.

Edd: Thank you, Marie. :)

Marie smiled a little, and walked out to the living room. "Hey, May? Um... Edd's coming over. Probably soon," she said.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she said. She walked to her room and closed the door. Marie presumed to get ready to leave. May was weird when it came to other people's relationships. Marie went back to her room and straightened up a bit. Afterwards, she cleaned out her bowl of the ashes and ground up some more pot. Marie packed the bowl tightly, hoping they can continue ripping from it throughout the day.

She heard May exit her room and walk out to the front door. When she opened it, she said, "Hey Edd!" before leaving. Marie went out to the living room to greet him. Edd noticed she was still wearing long sleeves, and decided that she was still uncomfortable about showing her arms.

"So, wanna get fucked up?" Marie asked, smiling sheepishly.

"Lets do this," he responded, and followed Marie to her room. They took turns dragging on the bong, and Marie took notice that Edd was getting better at holding in more smoke.

"Have you been practicing?" she asked.

Edd blew out his smoke after a couple of moments. "Ah... Yeah, I actually took your advice. Breathing exercises do help a lot," he answered.

Marie giggled. "The dank is strong with this one," she said.

Edd shook his head and handed off the bong to her. They got good and high after four rounds of trying to out-do each other in bong rips. Marie crawled onto the bed, and Edd shortly after. They stared at the ceiling for a moment. Turning on her side to face Edd, Marie grabbed his hat and put it on her head.

"You can't do that," Edd said weakly.

"I think I just did," she countered.

Edd tried to grab his hat back, but Marie shooed his hands away. Seeing that laying down wasn't helping, he got up on his knees and tried to take his hat back. Marie fought him off expertly. Edd tried to grab her arm, but withdrew his hand. Marie saw his hesitance, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her. He caught himself so that he was hovering over Marie with his hands on either side of her head. As she looked up at him, she ran her hands through Edd's hair.

"Your hair has gotten so long," she complimented. Edd gave no response. Instead, he planted his lips softly onto hers, making Marie close her eyes and kiss him back. He tried darting his tongue in her mouth again, but she met him with her own tongue. Marie moaned softly, playfully fighting his tongue off before letting him in. It stirred a burning feeling in her gut. Edd started moving to her neck and Marie gave him more access immediately, making Edd's beanie slide off of her head. She moaned again, snaking her arms down Edd's torso. She pushed his shirt up slightly and ran her hands up and down his chest, making him moan slightly.

Edd let his hands roam, but he didn't try pushing his hands under Marie's shirt again. He was afraid he'd frighten her again. Instead, he ran his hands up and down her hips and caressed the inside of her thighs.

Marie pulled away from him, making Edd look at her. She bit her lip nervously. "Do you... wanna do it?"

Edd swallowed hard. "I, u-um... I don't know," he stumbled over his words. Marie gently pushed him off of her.

"Edd, let me show you something," Marie said as she stood up and started taking off her shirt.

Edd's face instantly went red. "Wait, Marie, maybe we should work up for this kind of stuff! I don't think I'm ready for-" Edd stopped talking immediately. It wasn't that a half naked chick was in front of him that made his jaw drop in shock. Marie's whole torso was covered in bruises of various sizes. Some were darker than others. "Wh-what happened to you?" The amount of pain he thought she was going through was almost too much for him. He had to fight back some tears.

"Yeah, um..." Marie said, looking away from him. "My mom's boyfriend kind of hits us... a lot?" She had a hard time trying to put her words together. She started again, a bit shakier this time. "U-um... my mom... sh-she doesn't really care. In fact, she hardly ever comes by here anymore." Marie took in a deep breath. "I'm not even sure why she pays rent. Lee thinks my mom is giving him permission to do this. By the way, he raped Lee," she said.

Edd was in shock. He had presumed that they were being abused, but he had no idea it was of this magnitude. In fact, he thought the bruise on her arm was the worst he's seen, besides this. "I... don't know what to say. I'm sorry, I had no idea..."

Marie put her shirt back on. "Well, I mean, it started out as just abuse, you know, where he'd just hit us to get out of his way. Ever since that night Lee started crying... I couldn't forgive him. The very next day, he basically said he was going to do it again to us. I just... snapped. I fucking snapped. I attacked him. May helped out, too. That's why the bruises are so bad. We straight up have brawls in this fucking house," she explained.

Edd stood up and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her. Marie wrapped her arms around him, too, and buried her face in his chest. "It's okay to cry, I promise," he told her. "It's just going to build up stress."

"I don't want to cry," Marie said. Even so, Edd felt her shoulders trembling as she clutched the back of his shirt. He shed a few tears himself.


	9. Chapter 9 - Phone Call - Edited

**This chapter has a major edit. If you have read this before, I took out the sex scene because, well... it didn't really fit with the natural flow of the story. (Sorry!) Carry on!**

Edd could not stop thinking about what Marie had told him. He wished he could help out more, but Marie was convinced that there wasn't much to do about the situation. She explained that their plan was to move out together once they finished school. They feared that if they left now, their mother and her boyfriend may call the police and bring them back. Marie helped his conscience by saying that her mother's boyfriend used to come by every day, but ever since they've been fighting back, he comes every so often. Marie speculated that it's to instill fear into them.

Last night when Marie told him everything was rough. When he tried to go to sleep, visions of Marie's bruises were burned forever into his mind. He felt awful for accidentally hurting her before he saw the bruise on her arm for the first time. Edd tried researching physical abuse a few times, but he felt hopeless when reading multiple articles and finding out that some people don't make it out.

It was Sunday night, and Edd just couldn't sleep. He decided to text Marie to see if it was okay to call her. She agreed to it.

"Hey, Edd," she answered, knowing fully it was him.

"Hey," he said in a tired voice.

"Can't sleep?"

"No," Edd admitted. "I just... I can't stop thinking about it..."

"I'm going to be okay, I promise," she said soothingly. "Besides, I think he's starting to learn that he's no match for two of us together, let alone all three of us."

"Does Lee not live with you guys anymore?" he asked.

"Well, ever since... that night... She's been gone, mostly. She'll come back to sleep, but she generally stays out of here. May and I want to do that, but we don't have a car or much money. Lee has a different job than us, and gets paid a little more. She has a bank account, though so-" Marie stopped suddenly. The other end of the phone was very silent, except Edd could hear her breathing faintly.

"Marie?"

"I'm sorry, I have to go," she whispered abruptly.

Edd started panicking. "Marie, wait!" But it was too late. She had already hung up. His heart pounded, and he was afraid the reason she hung up was because she had to face her mom's boyfriend. Edd started hyperventilating, and with a shaky hand, looked for Eddy's number.

"Hello?" Eddy's voice came through, sounding very drowsy and annoyed.

"Eddy, please, you have to help me!" Edd asked, frantic, but trying to keep his voice down. "I'll pay you anything, do anything, you just really have to do me a big favor!"

Eddy groaned. "Double D, what's going on?"

"You have to take me to Marie's house!" he pleaded. "I-I think she's in trouble!"

"Ugh, alright, fine! But you owe me!"

Edd hung up immediately. He quickly threw on some shoes, not bothering to change out of his sleeping clothes which were boxers and a tank top. He grabbed his backpack and stuffed a change of clothes into it, just in case he didn't come back home and was prepared for school tomorrow. Edd wrote a note on the dry erase board on the fridge, apologizing for him not being there when they get up. He expected fully to get grounded, and at this point, he didn't care. When he exited his house, Eddy was already at the curb with his car, waiting for him.

"I think you need to start going for some normal girls," Eddy accused as Edd opened the door to his car. Edd didn't say anything. He was still very anxious, and wasn't exactly sure what he hoped to accomplish once he got there. As they neared the trailer park, there was a gunshot that rang in the air.

Edd was just about to jump out of the car. "Faster, Eddy!"

"Just what the hell is going on!?" Eddy asked angrily. He neared the Kanker's house, and a car that was in their driveway sped off in the opposite direction. Before Eddy could stop completely, Edd jumped out of the car, falling down once he got out. Not being too athletic, he sprained an ankle. He limped to the door, which was ajar.

"Marie!" he called out.

"Edd, what the fuck are you doing here!?" Lee called out, a pistol in her hand. She was dressed in pajama pants and a polka dot shirt. Edd looked around and saw that the trailer was in slight disarray. May, in traditional pajamas, was watching with tear stains on her face. Marie was on the ground, dressed in a band T-shirt and woman's boxers. A tiny trail of blood leaked from the side of her lip. Lee turned to Marie. "You told him?"

"Yeah, so?" Marie growled back.

"Hey, Sockhead! Are you done?" Eddy yelled from the yard. As he entered the house, his once angry expression turned to confusion. "Um... should I leave?"

Marie looked at Lee. She scoffed. "Do what you want. I'm going to sleep," she said as she turned and left the living room. Marie got up and spat out blood.

"I'm sorry for bringing you into this, Eddy," Edd apologized.

"I'm not even sure what this is," Eddy admitted. Edd walked passed him and headed towards the car. He grabbed his back pack. Eddy, walking behind him, asked, "What's going on?"

Edd sighed. "It's... a long story. I'm not even sure if Marie wants me to tell anyone."

Eddy shook his head. "Maybe Marie isn't right for you, dude."

"Don't say that, Eddy. I like her, and she hasn't done anything to me personally to make me feel like I shouldn't," Edd confessed. "I'm going to stay the night. I'm really sorry for dragging you out here."

"Whatever," was Eddy's answer.

Edd walked back into the house, but nobody was in the living room. He shut the door and locked it, only to find out that the locking mechanism didn't work. Making his way to Marie's room, he found her in the bathroom, gargling some water.

Marie spat out the water, and Edd noticed that there was a tiny trace of blood in it. "Edd, you shouldn't have come here," she told him.

Edd's shoulders dropped. "I couldn't help it."

Sighing, Marie walked passed him, grabbing his hand. She led him to her room and shut the door. "Your parents are going to kill you," she said.

"I am aware," he countered.

Marie climbed into her bed, leaving room for Edd next to her. As he climbed in the bed with her, Marie reached out and turned off her lamp. Once Edd settled himself, Marie turned towards him and threw an arm around his waste. "Thanks for not being afraid," she whispered.

He wrapped his arms around her too. "I just don't want to lose you," he whispered back. They were quiet for a little while before Edd broke the silence. "Marie, you get good grades. Why don't you try to find a scholarship and come with me to college?" he asked.

"Edd, I... I can't," she admitted.

"Why not?"

Marie sighed sadly. "I mean, I really want to. It's sweet of you to ask, but I can't just leave May here," she explained. "Lee and I... we can't abandon each other. Lee could have left, but she stays for us. I don't want to just... throw that back in their faces."

They were quiet again. Edd wondered what time it was, but he dared not find out. Marie surprised him with a kiss, and he was unable to let it stop. He kissed her back, immediately trying to deepen it. She allowed him to, but she shot her tongue in his mouth first. Before he could retaliate, Marie pulled away and giggled lightly before turning over to face away from Edd.

"Marie?" he called out softly.

"Yeah?"

Edd started to spoon Marie, and wrapped one of his arms around her waste while the other he lay on. "Don't ever change," he told her.


	10. Chapter 10 - Grounded

**I apologize for an incredibly short chapter. I wanted to add more, but I just got stuck. I know where the story's going, I'm just not good at fillers. XD I would like to announce that I changed the last chapter towards the end. It hasn't completely changed, but I did take out the sex scene. (I have an explanation up at the top of the chapter.) I'll be uploading more tonight, or at least try to.**

"I got grounded until the beginning of Christmas break," Edd said to Marie. It was first period on Tuesday, and Edd wanted to relay the bad news.

Marie raised an eyebrow. "Why the beginning?"

Edd sighed sadly. "I had to beg my parents to lessen the punishment. I told them I couldn't tell them what was going on, but I promised I wasn't doing anything illegal. They even bought an at home drug test!"

Marie leaned back in her chair and looked thoughtful. "You know, I don't mind if you tell your parents. I don't want you getting in trouble for me."

"I'll just leave out the part where we smoke weed and that Lee had a gun," he stated.

"Yeah, sorry about that last part. She bought it literally that day. I really hope it didn't make things worse," Marie said. She stopped leaning in her chair and took out a pen. She began doodling on her notepad, which was halfway full of intricate designs that flow well together.

Edd took notice. "I didn't know you did abstract," he said. "Can I take a closer look?"

Marie shrugged and handed off her notepad to him. "I do this about every year. I pick out a color I want the notepad to look, and I just doodle all year," she told him.

He examined it quietly for a while before saying, "There's so much detail..."

"I like painting a lot more," Marie admitted. "This is just stuff I do when I'm bored."

Edd handed back her notepad. "Why haven't I seen any of your paintings?"

Marie looked off to the side. "They always get destroyed before I can finish them. I really haven't been trying recently."

"Why do they get destroyed?" Edd asked. Marie made a strange face, and he caught on. "Oh, Marie. I'm really sorry," he said. They were quiet for a while, and eventually the bell rang. Everyone started gathering their books. Edd put his in a neat stack with the bigger books on the bottom, while Marie patiently waited.

As the couple walked out of the classroom and into the busy hallway, Marie grabbed Edd's hand. "It's okay, really. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it, but it's really no big deal. I could always paint after May and I get out of there," she reassured him.

Edd sighed. "I know you keep telling me not to worry, but... it's impossible. I can't stop thinking about you."

Marie giggled. "You're so cute, Double D."

Edd opened his mouth to say something else, but someone slapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find out Eddy had caught up with them.

"What's up, Sockhead!?" Eddy asked.

"I'm fine, I guess," Edd replied. He looked at Marie, who seemed to be in her own world already.

"Bummer that you got grounded. Ed and I were going to the movies Friday," Eddy told him, throwing a quick glare at Marie. She didn't notice.

"Eddy, stop it! You know it was my fault for getting grounded," Edd said, getting annoyed.

Eddy shrugged. "Whatever."

"Hey, guys, I'll catch you later," Marie spoke up. Before Edd could reply, she was already walking away. He turned back to Eddy.

"What are you doing? At first, you couldn't be happier that I was going after her. Why are you so upset now?" Edd demanded.

Eddy shoved his hands into his pockets. "First you and Marie get together, and now Ed's talking to May. I think they're up to something."

Edd laughed a little. "Eddy, are you jealous?"

"What? No!" Eddy said defensively. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Whatever you say," Edd replied.


End file.
